Friday, August 5, 2011

Internet friends ARE real friends

Things have been a little tough on me emotionally, lately. Tony finally getting orders and them not giving us a whole lot of time to set up our move, prepare the house etc. has been the biggest stress. Then realizing how much we're giving up during this move has been really wearing on me. Because of the cost of living, we don't have much choice but to live in military housing in CT. To top it off, the area of housing we want to live in has no availability, so we'll be stuck in a place I don't want to be. We'll have no yard, no fence, no playroom for the kids... all things we have here. Giving up my comfortable home is really weighing heavy on me. (I know it sounds silly, but the kids and our home is what my whole life revolves around.)

We're in a rush to find a renter for our house here that can move in when we'll be leaving. Then Tony finds out he needs a waiver for the condition he has in his leg (veinous reflux), which is just another hurdle thrown in front of us. Thankfully yesterday he received a temporary waiver, unfortunately that means he has to deal with more waiver crap in CT, but it's something at least. We also have not heard from movers yet who the Navy is supposed to have contact us to confirm our move dates. This is just a few of the bazillion other stresses involving this move that are weighing on me right now. Many are Navy related, some of emotionally related to how this is going to effect my children again. I feel guilty they have to give up so much too.

Here is where I get to my whole point of this blog entry. When we move we wont have room for both our large diningroom table and eat in kitchen table (since there will be no eat in kitchen where we're going) so I was looking around for a long folding table to use for the kids homeschooling so that we aren't using the diningroom table that we need to eat on for school also. I found one for a really great price recently and was trying to quickly save money to order it. Last night I looked at it again and the price had jacked back up by almost $150 and was almost full price again. I was so upset because that means I couldn't afford to get it. It's important to me because it will really help the kids having a solid place for school that isn't dual use. I whined about it online before I went to bed.

Today, 4 people we know online through Tony's android developing paypal'd donations to us, to help us buy this table. They had no stake in it, there were no strings attached, they aren't our "family" or "real life" friends. They are our internet friends. They cared enough about my family that they wanted to help us out with something that was important to us. We didn't ask anyone for anything and they took it upon themselves to chip in out of the goodness of their hearts, because they knew it would help. Another person we know hunted the internet trying to find me a better deal, he even emailed the company trying to get them to sell the table at that lower price. They are all amazing. They are real friends.

Over the years, we've had people make kind gestures like this and it never ceases to amaze me. It reminds me there really are kind people out there who do care about others. It also solidifies my reasoning for helping other when we can as well. If we all try to do something small for someone else now and then, it can make such a difference.

Do something kind for a stranger. No matter how big or small it may be, it might just completely make their day and maybe even improve their life in some way, even a small one, like this has ours. Even a kind word or a shoulder to lean on can make a world of difference.

5 comments:

First off, let me start by thanking you and Tony for the service you give to our county.

Sadly, we have come to live in a world where so many take what we have for granted and just always assume it will always be there no matter what.

Also, it takes a very special woman to have the patience and dedication to homeschool her children.

What I am really trying to say is that it is you, Sarah and Tony, that really are the ones that deserve the appreciation more than us.

Hopefully your kindness and dedication will continue to rub off on not only your children, but also many more people who's lives you touch in so many ways. That is what will make the world we live in a much better place for generations to come.

We just left ct in January (New London, right?) We were in military housing for five years, and it was pretty nice. We started in an older home, and then when that was torn down, we moved to a brand new townhouse. It was a little tight, with lots of people in a small area. We made some awesome awesome friends though, and my kids loved that everytime they went outside there were friends to play with. There was also a pool, a splash pad, and several parks all within walking distance, as well as sidewalks for the kids to safely ride their bikes on. Some of our favorite places there were Mystic Aqaurium, the children's museum in Niantic, the Peabody Museum over at Yale, and North Lake right there on the Navy base. Also all the orchards in the fall...so beautiful. And all the history...it is a homeshool paradise really. LOL...can you tell that I miss it? I hope you guys enjoy your time there as well. It's an awesome place to raise children.

TBI

Traumatic Brain Injury Awareness Matters!

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*The two who started it all*

Hello There! My name is Sarah and I am the wife and full time Caregiver to my Disabled Veteran husband Tony. We have 6 awesome children together. After my husband's last brain injury in 2014, our life was flipped upside down and we have been rebuilding within our new normal ever since. Tony's TBI has left him fully disabled with a long list of brain injury related conditions and his 18 years of military service has left him with several more, including PTSD. Follow us on our journey, ride this roller coaster with us and maybe learn some things along the way!